Pages

Monday, March 16, 2015

Jack's Birthday Buddy

Warning: this post has a million pictures. :)

A little before Thanksgiving, I received a message from a friend of some friends; her name is Lisa.

Lisa and her husband have two beautiful kids, one of which, Jack, has a birthday just days after Christmas. Last year, for Jack's first birthday, Lisa and her husband asked a friend with a child with Cerebral Palsy to be Jack's "Birthday Buddy". Instead of Jack's party guests giving him gifts for his birthday, they made a donation in honor of Jack's Birthday Buddy. Those donations went toward getting a piece of medical equipment for Jack's Birthday Buddy.

For Jack's second birthday, Lisa asked if Isaiah could be Jack's Birthday Buddy. We were surprised and grateful that they thought of us and said yes.

Thanks to Jack, his family and friends, and their generosity, Isaiah is now the proud owner of the Scooot (that's 3 O's,) by Firefly.

For Jack's birthday, they have given Isaiah a gift, they have given us a gift, the gift of mobility.

Lisa has the patience of a saint, because I changed my mind, changed my mind, and changed my mind again. I wanted to be sure whatever piece of equipment that we chose for Isaiah would work for him. I was so afraid that what we chose wouldn't work and that it would have been wasteful.

But look at him, he naturally put his hands right on the wheels!

I asked Lisa to wait for Isaiah's Wheelchair Clinic appointment, I asked her to wait to let me talk with Isaiah's PT. I asked her to wait and wait and wait some more. I was afraid this wouldn't be the right fit for Isaiah. And then when I finally said "ok, let's do it!", it was out of stock. So Lisa had to wait some more. Seriously. patience. of. a. saint.

I swear she was on it. The moment that the 3 in 1 Scooot became available, she jumped on it. It got here in less than a week! And then I opened the box and found out that some of the screws were missing.

More waiting.

As it sat in our house, waiting for a new bag of screws to be sent from across the Atlantic (Firefly is based out of Northern Ireland), I grew nervous that it'd be too big for Isaiah to use.

Thankfully I was wrong. I think though, that we made the right choice.

It did need some adapting. Isaiah's feet fell into spots that made me nervous. He also needed a bit of a harness; without it, he was too nervous to push the wheels because his torso/head support isn't 100%.

Isaiah's PT and some OI moms came to the rescue with some creative thinking.

His PT added the pillow from his Boppy chair for some cushion as the back is made of a hard plastic; she added a book as well for a bit of a taller support. I added a burp cloth on each side and so his feet didn't fall into the holes. I grabbed a scarf (thanks to Rachel's suggestion!) and tied that around him as a little DIY harness.

Isaiah does need to rest his head sometimes still though, so I needed a higher support in the back. I also decided to remove the front footrest since Isaiah's feet can't reach it yet (should be great in the future, especially when Isaiah has his rodding surgery and is casted) and it's removal lightens the weight of the whole thing:

The taller book has a padded cover and is titled "On the Go". Could that be more perfect??

We did some experimenting without Isaiah in the chair to make sure we truly thought it was safe for him. I am sure there may be some Firefly makers shaking their heads at our adaptations...but with those additions, it quickly became obvious to us that this is something that will be ideal for Isaiah around the house.

Carl is not too sure.

As time goes on and Isaiah gets used to the feeling of moving himself, we know we'll be able to pull our additions from his Scooot.

Isaiah LOVES it. He can go backwards like a champ, but is still working on pushing forward.

It's a whole new world for him, though.

This. This picture gives me butterflies. Look at him! Playing with the magnets on the fridge just like any other one and half year old.

Isaiah will now be able to wheel right up to whatever he wants to see. We know he's going to master pushing himself in no time. The Scooot is preparing him for his customized wheelchair, that will be perfect when we are out and about.

One of the greatest things about the Scooot is that it's more than just a tiny wheelchair. When Isaiah is older, he'll be able to use it to crawl around as you can take the pieces apart to use that way- he'll be able to lay right on it. It can also be used without the big side wheels so he can scoot with his legs if his body allows him to.

The Scooot will be something Isaiah will use. For years.

It gives him independence.

Thank you Jack for sharing your birthday with Isaiah! Thank you Lisa and Jason for thinking of this, reaching out, and putting so much time and effort into providing Isaiah with such freedom. Thank you to everyone who donated and made this possible.

We are working on getting Isaiah an official wheelchair, a wheelchair that will be perfect outside the house, and will take months to get here once it's ordered. This Scooot is giving Isaiah freedom in his home.

Now.

And we're so grateful.

It's an amazing thing to see our little boy who couldn't move now have a tool to help him get around his own home. To see that sparkle in his eye as he claps for himself saying "I di (did) it!" after he "pu pu" (push pushed) the wheels and made them move. This has seriously, I know I've already said it, but this has seriously opened up a whole new world for us.

Ya know how I constantly post pictures of Isaiah sitting up in his highchair? Well look out, because my bet is that over the next few months, the majority of what we share will be of Isaiah on the go. :)

____________

Don't forget to order an Isaiah T-Shirt if you want one! We're placing the order this Wednesday so if you want one, we need to know what size(s) you'd like. Also, we're able to order youth sizes now! If you'd like baby/toddler, let us know the size, we'll get back to you with the price (sorry it's taking so long to get the prices; Dave doesn't hound them like I would ha). Please email us at oibelieveinisaiah@gmail.com or message us on Isaiah's facebook :)

No comments:

Post a Comment

Do You Believe?

Welcome to our Blog!

Hello! My name is Vicky. My husband, Dave, and I started this blog to share the latest news about our son, Isaiah, and his condition. He was born on August 11, 2013; he has Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), which is commonly known as brittle bone disease. He has type III, which is one of the most severe forms that you can live with.

I write to share our story, to share Isaiah's LIFE, and to spread awareness of OI.

We were recommended to terminate our pregnancy when the OI was first discovered. My hope is that if another couple is blessed with an OI baby, and they happen to Google, that they will be brought here and shown that miracles do happen and that OI is no show-stopper.